As distribution manager for Greenleaf Book Group, one of the questions I’m asked most frequently by authors is “How do I get my book in Barnes & Noble or my local grocery store or even my favorite indie bookstore”? It seems like there would be a simple answer, but there are many industry challenges to navigate before a book finds its way onto the shelves of a brick-and-mortar store and I’ll shed some light on those challenges today.

First and foremost, your book cannot be a Print On Demand (POD) book. Retailers do not carry POD books because they are usually non-returnable (retailers require all books be 100% returnable to the publisher at any time, for a full refund) and there is usually little, if any, PR and marketing support behind POD books. Corporate book buyers consider POD books to be high-risk products, meaning the books will likely have low sell-through to consumers because of the challenges in generating awareness and demand, so they typically won’t stock POD books in their stores.

Most retailers, including B&N, buy books from wholesalers. Retailers like using wholesalers because it allows them to get any book from any of the major publishers, like Penguin Random House, and smaller, but well-known, publishers like Greenleaf. By working with a wholesaler, retailers only have to deal with one organization, making ordering, accounting, and merchandising very simple and streamlined. The trick is getting retailers to carry your book.

Small publishers generally have a distribution arm that allows some flexibility to distribute books that the publisher did not print itself. Those publishers charge a small fee to distribute other books, giving those authors the distribution muscle of a large publishing house. These smaller publishers bring in “distribution only” titles in order to expand and promote their existing catalog of books. Finding a publisher to distribute your title is probably the best option for getting your book into a brick-and-mortar retail outlet.

Another option is working directly with a wholesaler. There are a few wholesalers (notably Ingram and Baker & Taylor) that will carry independently published books, but there are some strict requirements to be met. Often, a wholesaler will require that an author/publisher have at least 10 books in print or sometimes a wholesaler will demand a very high discount, either way the requirements can be hard to meet. If you can meet the requirements, it’s often a good strategy to work directly with wholesalers because they don’t usually charge a fee.

In a nutshell, most authors looking to have their books carried in brick-and-mortar stores have two options—working with a smaller publisher or directly with a wholesaler. Retailers will typically disclose which wholesaler they use, so authors may reach out to that wholesaler and ask for their requirements. Otherwise, find a small publisher with a strong distribution network. There are many out there, so do your research, interview the publisher, and pick the one that fits you best.